Last Saturday night was the opening of “Close Encounters”, a show featuring works by the legendary graffiti artist Saber from Los Angeles. Some of us from the agency, as well as hundreds of others from around the Bay Area descended on White Walls Gallery in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco to check out this highly anticipated show. The event was sponsored by Sparks, and that syrupy energybeer of doom flowed freely all night long.

The bulk of the work consisted of oil paintings of the Los Angeles cityscape at dusk and night time. This show cemented Saber as a highly skilled oil painter, illustrating his success in mastering traditional graffiti and fine art, a difficult and commendable feat.

His fine art is- like his graffiti has been for some time- undeniable. He took a straightforward approach to composition and brought the pieces to life through rendering psychedelic wisps and streaks of light emanating from city lamps, and at times blasting out of the sky, their sources unknown. Overall, his treatment of light was powerful. It alluded to a deep relationship and understanding of the city, one that has no doubt been informed by countless nights spent lurking through the maze of freeway and concrete structures that compose Los Angeles’ unique urban layout. The show also featured a scale model of his now infamous graffiti piece adorning the wall of the Los Angeles riverbed, complete with a neighboring Amtrak train. The actual piece is regarded as the largest piece of graffiti ever created, and 2007 marks the ten-year anniversary of its completion.

Links:
Known Gallery
The Seventh Letter in LA WEEKLY

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Written by MB for EMERGE

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